Apple reveals Aussie iPad 2 pricing

Australian iPad lovers will need to cough up $579 for the cheapest version of the iPad 2, or $949 for a top-of-the-line model, when the coveted device goes on sale locally tomorrow.

The announcement came as Apple confirmed it would stick to plans to launch its newest iPad in 25 more markets this week, including France and Britain, even as it fails to meet the high demand for the gadget in the US.

“While competitors are still struggling to catch up with our first iPad, we’ve changed the game again with iPad 2,"
Apple
chief executive
Steve Jobs
said in a statement issued yesterday morning.

“We’re experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the US, and customers around the world have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on it," the statement read. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads."

The Australian pricing is likely to irk some prospective customers, as the device retails in the US at prices starting from $US499 and topping out at $US829.

Apple said it would charge a recommended retail price of $579 for a 16Gb iPad 2 with Wi-Fi, $689 for the 32Gb model and $799 for the 64Gb model.

For the iPad 2 with Wi-Fi and 3G, pricing starts at $729 for the 16Gb version, rising to $839 for 32Gb and $949 for the 64Gb model. Apple will also launch the iPad 2 tomorrow in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain.

Apple, in affirming its international plans, did not provide any hard figures for US sales since the iPad 2, a thinner and faster version that features two cameras, was introduced on March 11.

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A week and a half after the iPad 2 went on sale, hundreds of customers continue to line up outside retail stores, many being turned away due to low supply. Some would-be buyers have expressed frustration at how difficult it has been to secure one of the wildly popular tablet computers. Some analysts have speculated that Apple misjudged demand, given the widespread sell-outs.

The waiting time for an iPad 2 ordered online in the US is four to five weeks.

The first iPad, which went on sale a year ago, sold 300,000 units in the US on the first day, 500,000 in the first week, and crossed the 1 million unit mark in 28 days.

Some analysts have estimated that iPad 2 sales were close to 1 million during the first weekend.